Gluten-free and sugar-free carrot cake

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If you're on a gluten-free diet and don't want to miss out on a classic you're going to love this carrot cake recipe. Not only is it gluten-free, it's sugar-free too - swapping the usual caster sugar for Stevia or Splenda. The deliciously, thick cream cheese frosting turns this cake into a showstopper, just sprinkle with nuts and finish with grated carrot on top. This recipe uses lots of egg whites so we recommend that you use liquid egg whites, which you can find in the baking aisle in most supermarkets, so you don’t have to worry about what to do with all of those yolks!

Ingredients

For the cake:

113g coconut flour

113 g pecan flour

21 g unsweetened shredded dried coconut, lightly toasted

400g Splenda or Stevia Extract in the Raw, or 200g New Roots Stevia Sugar

2tsps baking powder

1¼tsps salt

1½tsps ground cinnamon

8 egg whites or 6 eggs

280ml unsweetened soy milk or other milk

113 g salted butter or margarine, melted

2tsps vanilla extract

¼tsp liquid stevia

340g packed finely shredded carrots

For the cream cheese frosting:

680g cream cheese, at room temperature

113g salted butter or margarine, at room temperature

200g Splenda or Stevia Extract in the Raw, or 100g New Roots Stevia Sugar

½tsp ground cinnamon

4tsps vanilla extract

1tbsp unsweetened soy milk or other milk

&frac18;tsp liquid stevia

Pecans or other nuts, toasted and chopped, for garnish (optional)

Unsweetened coconut flakes, toasted for garnish (optional)

If you don't have coconut flour or pecan flour you could swap for regular flour instead, just make sure you use the same measurements

Method

Preheat the oven to 160°C/325°F/Gas Mark 3. Line the bottom of two 8-inch round cake pans with parchment paper, then mist the inside walls of the pans along with the parchment with spray oil.

In a medium bowl, combine the coconut flour, pecan flour, shredded coconut, Splenda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon and whisk until well mixed. In a large bowl, whisk the egg whites, milk, butter, vanilla, and liquid stevia together until thoroughly blended. Stir in the carrots. Add the flour mixture and stir with a large spoon for 1 to 2 minutes to make a thick, sticky batter. If the batter is too thick to pour, add a little more milk.

Pour the batter into the prepared pans. Use a spatula to evenly spread the batter, or jiggle the pan to evenly distribute the batter in the pan. Bake for 35 minutes, then switch racks and bake for about 30 more minutes, until the cakes are lightly golden and springy when pressed in the center and a toothpick inserted into the middle of each cake comes out clean. Let the cakes cool in the pans for at least 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the frosting. In the bowl of an electric mixer or a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients and mix with the paddle attachment on medium speed or stir vigorously with a large spoon until thoroughly blended. If using an electric mixer, switch to the whisk attachment and mix at medium-high speed for about 3 minutes, until the mixture is fluffy and very creamy; if mixing by hand, switch to a sturdy whisk and beat vigorously.

As the cakes cool, they should shrink from the pan walls; if not, run an icing spatula or a thin knife around the edges. Invert the cakes onto two plates. They can be eaten as they are or be frosted, either singly or as a two-layer cake.

For a two-layer cake, spread some frosting over the top of the lower layer, spreading it to an even thickness of about ¼ inch. Position the second layer on top and then spread the remaining frosting over the entire cake. Sprinkle the pecans, coconut, or both over the top and/or sides of the cake if you like. Keep refrigerated.

Reprinted with permission from The Joy of Gluten-Free, Sugar-Free Baking, by Peter Reinhart, copyright (c) 2012. Published by Ten Speed Press, a division of Random House, LLC.

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